Since you are only going to be able to get custom after-market skid plates anyway, just have them vented somewhat. Strategically placed and sized holes/slots should not reduce skid plate effectiveness/strength too much and should allow the water to reach the under-carraige and then drain afterwards. An added benefit is that they will be a little lighter than having a solid plate.

The stock patriot sits so low that skid plates are mandatory in my mind. Even with a lift job you are still going to be pretty low and there seems to be lots of exposed stuff that will get snagged or beat up even on relatively tame roads.

Julian

 

The FDII option comes with skid plates and a one inch lift. You may be able to buy something aftermarket if you wish. I am going with the factory skid plates for now.

As for cleaning. With all my previous 4x4s, I would either hold the high pressure hose under it or here's a trick a friend showed ma a while ago. He put the garden sprinkler under it and let it run for a while than moved it to another spot under his Jeep... this seemed to work out about 90% of the mud and stuff. It does come down to how thick the stuff is, how packed in it gets and how dry it gets before you spray it off.

 

The FDII option comes with skid plates and a ONE INCH LIFT

ok, i'm ......i've been all through brochures and specs and i've seen nothing that says the Patriot with the FDII "Off-Road Pkg" has a "one inch lift".

there are different part numbers for the springs and the tires are slightly taller, but the shocks/struts are the same. how do you get a "one inch lift" from just that? if it's just in the tires, then my Compass with the same tires has just as much ground clearance.......

 

So while waiting for my Patriot to be built I am exploring the various ways of creating my custom FDII package (I refuse to give up my manual transmission). One of the first things I want to think about (after upgrading the suspension) is skid plates. I am afraid that the skid plates will block the under body wash, the salt may stay up there and the skid plates may actually contribute to under body rust/decay which Jeeps are notorious for having up here.

I think all cars are notorious for rusting up north Skid plates usualy have drain holes in them already. If your underside gets banged up, there will be scratches that break the corrosion protection and you will get rust, so check with your local Jeep dealer and you may be able to buy some factory skid plates.

 

I have a few questions... Are the skid plates on FDII metal or plastic? If they are metal, how thick? How much protection do they really offer? How exposed are critical components (oil pan, tranny, fuel tank, radiator, diffs, control arms, etc)?

IHO you'll probably be better off with aftermarket or fabing up your own skids.

 

I have a few questions... Are the skid plates on FDII metal or plastic?

If they were plastic they wouldnt be called skid plates, they would call them splash shields.

 

skid plate photos & where to get it

can anyone please post the pics of FD2 skid plate? also, anyone knows where to get custom skid plate for patriot?

 

can anyone please post the pics of FD2 skid plate? also, anyone knows where to get custom skid plate for patriot?

Thanks.

 

I'd be interested in seeing these as well. The Compass is lower than the FDII Patriot and I know me when I see a dirt road....

 

Skid plate pictures:

http://www.jeeppatriot.com/forum/showpost.php?p=48169&postcount=5

 

Thanks for posting the picture. I have been to the dealer and they still do not know how to differentiate between the plastic shroud (which I currently have) and the metal skid plate (the one that is pictured) . Anyone know the right parts number for the front metal skid plate??

 

That's because few dealers do mods. That aside, you might want to wait for after market. It might be cheaper and possibly better.

 

Warning. The Mopar gas tank skid plates don't fit my Patriot FWD, without heavy-duty modification.

Luckily I had my dealer do the install of the skid plates as part of the new car deal. They found that the FWD gas tank shape is different from the 4x4. The 4x4 undercarriage has to accomodate the extra rear drive shaft etc resulting in a flatter 'saddle' shaped tank. When they first try to install the plates on the FWD tank, one edge of the plate pressed against the tank bottom: preventing normal tank swelling. Their solution was to trim the flange off, to allow a 0.75 inch gap between the plate and tank. Lucky the dealer's body shop has the heavy equipment to do the cutting.

BTW the dealer also had to scramble for the bolting hardware.

 

Any pics of this by chance so I can see what I'm getting myself into? Is there any way you may be able to BFH it to fit or will you have to get the grinder out?

 

I know there have been many discussions in other threads about the skid plates and bolting hardware; my skid plates were to go on last weekend and didn't because of that (made some assumptions which were incorrect). Did they mention any part number(s) for the bolting hardware?

 

mudhead. My dealer was surprised by the lack of bolting hdw for the Mopar plates. They had to guess and improvise by going to some local home depot, just like some forum members. Better that you search this forum to get some idea on the attaching hdw. I think there are several approaches. good luck.

 

There are a couple of Skid Plate treads. This one MK Skid Plates has a write up by hvac59 and his method starting at post 51, my write up starts on post 133. There are some other alternatives mentioned by Metalhead in and around there too with some comments by psaulesl who used my fasteners. All good info over there!

 

I was at my dealership today and ordered the skid plates and shields for my Patriot. Thanks to the information found in our forum, notably the part numbers, staff didn't have any trouble typing out the order. Interestingly though, they couldn't find any picture of the front plate, only the existing plastic shield.

Apparently I am the only Patriot owner to have enquired there about obtaining aftermarket metal skid plates (and tow hooks) since the vehicle was introduced and this is a busy Toronto dealership!

When I pick them up in a day or two I may ask the service manager for an installation estimate (which could be very interesting and humourous).

For those in the Toronto and Southern Ontario area, (limited?) quantities of skid plates now seem to be in stock at the distribution centre(s). Also, both the front and rear sets of moulded splash guards are now available (One set was out of stock for a long time.)

It sure isn't difficult to quickly use up that $50 Chrysler gift certificate and $1000 government rebate!

 

Gramps is the expert when it comes to skid plates. Go to the threads mentioned earlier.

I saved the info off those and when I get some time I am going to install my skid plates. Right now they are in the garage collecting dust.

 

no argument from me that gramps is the skid plate man. If I had actually really paid attention, I wouldn't have bought the items I did, which mainly matched gramps' list, but figured I could get away with a couple modifications as I couldn't find everything. Seems that is not the case once one puts the pat up on a hoist and has a good look.

I'm just astonished about the difficulty in getting parts for the patriots. I'm also having major issues finding the little rubber thingys that fit on the hood to support the air deflector as most of mine have disappeared, those things just aren't available unless you buy an entire new deflector.

Ridiculous and pretty poor customer support.

but i digress.

feel better though.

 

.... I'm also having major issues finding the little rubber thingys that fit on the hood to support the air deflector as most of mine have disappeared, those things just aren't available unless you buy an entire new deflector.

Ridiculous and pretty poor customer support.

but i digress.

feel better though.

.....it's really poor MANUFACTURER SUPPORT! from the dealership parts level, i deal with this EVERY FREAKIN DAY! either the hardware to install or mount something is listed as "NOT SUPPLIED BY MOPAR" or they simply don't refer to it at all. then we, as parts personnel, look like idiots because 'we can't find it'. should you call "Mother Mopar", you NOW get someone in INDIA that doesn't speak a lick of "American" English and if you're lucky enough to be able to understand them anyway, they have no more knowledge of the situation than YOU do, so then they transfer you to 'the other specifying department' where you are ON HOLD for 20-30 MINUTES or MORE! by THAT time you've pissed off 5 or 6 other customers because you're on the phone, ignoring them.

it's a no win situation and it's only getting WORSE!

but in answer to your 'hood support thingys', try a hardware store like Lowes or Home Depot. it they're what i'm thinking of, they have them in packages of 10-12 on a card that you can peel off and stick on. they have various sizes, diameters and thicknesses but for the most part, are made of clear silicone/plastic.

good luck......:smiley_thumbs_up:

 

:notworthy: WOW! Thanks for the kudos guys! The real problem was finding the fasteners, I've got enough for about 60 MK's. The 2 upper ones for the fuel tanks were the only hard ones to install but still, at 5 minutes each, they're over and done with.

mudhead - any pics of these "little rubber thingys that fit on the hood to support the air deflector"? Maybe someone will recognize them as being used on something, somewhere else.

 

Dodgeboy. Being a good ole boy, the hands-on dealer service mgr finally flattened the flange with some industrial press equipmt is his body shop, instead of cutting. Apparently the center edge of one piece of the skid plate for the gas tank was originally flanged (bent upward for add strength). That 0.75' flange would touch (press) the bottom center of the empty tank when the plate is installed: not a good thing when the tank is filled & normally swell. The tech mgr said that there should be at least 0.75" air space between the tank & skid plate for tank expansion, or debris impact on the plate.

Best that you have your friendly dealer do the install. If your guy never encountered this Mopar gas tank skid tank oddity for Fwd, PM me to have him to contact my dealer service mgr in Toronto. It will save time & grieve.

BTW Seems like working for Chrysler, so your dealership should be extra friendly. First get a fix quote on parts & labor, then tell him about the oddity later. LOL. bonne chance. pierre à toronto

 

Chaeaupierre: My Patriot is going into the dealership (Eastway) tomorrow for some minor warranty work. While it's there they are going to hoist it, look at the skid plates and mounting holes and give me an installation estimate. I have been offering them information (especially Gramps') from this site about the problems being encountered and the fasteners being used by different people. If comfortable doing so, could you provide me with the name of your GTA dealership, who did your plates, so they can call them for advice if needed. (I have the 5 speed manual 4X4 so I don't think any bending will be necessary.) Thanks.

 

Eagle1: I used Islington Chrysler. Your guy should contact my service mgr, who is a hands-on guy re: mounting holes etc. Mopar plates should be ok for 4x4. bonne chance.

 

thought youd like to know i had same problem on my ram, i fixed it by using 3m brand clear furniture feet, sshaped like little drops. they are self adhesive and work pretty well. not an exact match but close nuff. got them at wal mart in the hardware section near adhesive and furniture accessories bout 5 bucks:banana:

 

I'll chime in on the defence of all of the parts men and mechanics out there. If they don't have the information in the catalogs then you need to find an old geezer that's been around the block a few times and maybe even got ran over by a truck once or twice. There is no substitute for YEARS of experience when it comes to some of this stuff. Someone from back in the old days when they had catalogs that you could look at and not computers that just spit out whatever info that was put into it. Back in those days, from my machine shop experiences, we used to have to break apart 2, 3 or more main bearing sets to get the individual pieces to make a complete set for some odd ball that someone was working on. That's just an example.

Mechanics are technicians these days. Do you think that any of them could actually rebuild a starter, alternator or carburetor (I know, what's that?) these days? Some may be able too but it's better to replace the part because it's cheaper and less time consuming than doing rebuilds.

On the skid plate fasteners, I have a feeling that the center and rear engine cross members or whatever you want to call it, is probably a different part number with these T-Nuts welded on, hence the other name of "weld nuts". As far as the hex Rivnuts, that I feel is an oversight in the catalogs/computer listing.

My best suggestion is to find an old geezer and be nice to them, you may need their help someday. No, I no longer work in automotive either but I've been there. End of rant.

 

but gramps, we did find an old geezer.

 

Gramps: Thanks again for being that guy, and making it possible for me to install my own skid plates!

 

I wasn't trying to pat myself on the back, just saying that some of the older crowd in the parts and mechanicing trades could be a big help to any of us. I got lost when the electronics started really catching hold but I still love the mechanicals! I'm just glad that we were fooling around with the same stuff at the same time and that I could help.

Besides, on my home planet I'm still young and VERY sexy!